One Step At a Time
by Musicalcat98
Summary: Aubrey took off five years ago, not looking back, but when she returns for a reunion Chloe planned, she realizes how much has changed. And maybe how she caused it. Okay i suck at summaries bye.
1. Chapter 1

**One Step At a Time**

Aubrey straightened her top before walking into the building. Today was the reunion she had been dreading. Chloe wanted everyone to get together and catch up, but Aubrey had tried her hardest to start her life over. She went to law school just as her father had instructed. Turns out, it wasn't that bad, and she was actually decent at it. Chloe wouldn't let her miss.

_If I have to come up there and kidnap you myself to make sure you're there, I will._

Aubrey knew she wasn't kidding. If she didn't agree, she could most definitely expect to see Chloe Beale standing at her front door with a pillowcase and duct tape.

She took a deep breath and walked in with her head held high. Everyone was there. She looked around and flashed a smile towards people who caught her eye. Beca was there, as arrogant as ever, but she seemed happy. Stacie was there. She didn't seem to have anyone with her, but if she was the same as she was five years ago, she'd be taking someone home. Jessica and Ashley were talking with Denise and Cynthia Rose who still seemed to be together. I guess you could thank Beca for that one. Chloe was walking around the room talking to everyone. Tom was attached to her side. She looked so happy to see everyone. Aubrey didn't really understand that.

"Aubrey, hi!" Chloe squealed from across the room. Heads turned and looked towards her. Aubrey grinned sheepishly and hugged the redhead.

"Hey Chloe. How are you?"

"I'm great now that everyone is here!"

"I didn't realize you had invited the guys too." Aubrey admitted, a little confused as to why her old enemies were mingling with everyone.

"I thought it would be fun! Come on! Everyone's waiting to see how the famous Aubrey Posen turned out!" Chloe squealed, dragging her to the first table.

Aubrey greeted Beca and Stacie along with Benji, Donald, and Unicycle. They briefly chatted before Chloe dragged her to the next table where Jessica, Ashley, Denise, and Cynthia Rose were. Chloe walked past one of the Treble tables, and she led her to the last table.

"Aubrey, you remember Jesse, right?" Chloe asked bubbly.

Aubrey's attention turned towards the familiar face. Her heart sank a little when she saw him.

"Hi." He said quietly.

"Um...hey."

"Who's that daddy?" a small voice asked from behind Jesse.

"It's just an old friend, princess." He told her softly.

"You have a kid?" Aubrey asked with surprise in her voice.

"Aubrey, meet Rosie. She's Jesse's little girl." Chloe interjected, waving towards the little girl who was hiding behind her dad's arm.

She had his eyes. Actually, she was an exact replica of him. Her brown hair was pulled back into a half ponytail, and her soft, brown eyes were full of life.

"It's nice to meet you Rosie. I'm Aubrey."

"Are you an Aunt, too?" she asked curiously.

Aubrey was a little confused at first until Chloe straightened it out.

"She calls me Aunt Chloe since I helped Jesse out for a while at first."

Aubrey nodded in understanding. "No Rosie, I'm not. I'm just an old friend of your daddy's."

"Why don't you sit here?" Chloe suggested, ushering her to the seat next to Rosie.

Jesse had yet to hold eye contact with Aubrey. It hurt too much. The memory came flooding back, and he didn't know if she remembered or not, but he sure did.

* * *

_"Hey Aubrey!"_

_"Hey Jesse! What's up?" Aubrey asked cheerfully._

_"Well I, uh, I was, um, I was wondering if maybe you for some reason wanted to possibly go out with me one night for dinner or something?" Jesse stuttered. His hands were shaking, and his stomach had butterflies._

_Aubrey didn't say anything for a minute or so. "Jesse, I'm sorry, but I can't. I swore that I wouldn't get attached to anything from college. I only have one thing on my mind right now, and that's school. I don't need any distractions. I'm sorry."_

_A "no" would have been sufficient. Jesse didn't want excuses. He knew he was taking a risk by just asking her._

_With that, Aubrey was gone. She left for Boston the next week, never to be heard from for five years. Jesse was heartbroken. She was the only thing he could think of for the longest time. It hurt. Everywhere he went, he heard her voice or saw her face, but she wasn't there. _

_His first night out with an open mind, he drank. He drank more than he would ever drink in his life. If he ever thought of the night, he swore he could taste the alcohol from that night. That's when he met Kristen, Rosie's mom._

* * *

"How old are you, Rosie?" Aubrey asked bubbly.

She held up four fingers with a huge grin on her face.

"Four? Wow! You're getting to be a big girl!"

"Daddy still calls me his little girl!" she whined.

"I think all daddy's call their daughters their little girls, even when they're my age!" she whispered.

Rosie giggled and looked over at Jesse. He was watching them carefully, almost as if he were studying Aubrey.

"Are you a princess?" Rosie asked with wide eyes.

"Sadly, I think you're the only princess in the room!" Aubrey told her, earning a big, toothy grin. "I help put away bad guys. That way you can be a princess without having to worry about bad guys!" Aubrey added.

"Daddy, I have to go potty." Rosie told him.

"I'll take you sweetie! Your daddy and Aubrey have some catching up to do." Chloe chimed in. She got up and escorted her to the bathroom.

"So…you have a kid." Aubrey said, looking down at her glass.

"Yeah."

"She's adorable. I'm sure you're a great dad." Aubrey admitted, finally making eye contact with him. Truth be told, she remembered. She remembered being so cold with him. Seeing him now, and with a daughter, made her feel terrible.

"She's a great kid."

"I like the name." she said quietly with a wink.

Jesse blushed a little bit at her remark. Aubrey only told Chloe and him her middle name, Rose. When he got the call that Kristen had given birth and wanted Jesse to have all of the responsibilities of being a father, he panicked. When he got to the hospital, she refused to see him to talk about it. He was a father now. The nurse asked what her name was going to be, and he only had one name permanently burned into his mind at the time.

_Rosie. Her name is Rosie. Rosie Grace Swanson. _

"I panicked." He admitted.

"Do you mind me asking? She's four which didn't leave a lot of time from, well obviously you remember."

Jesse looked away and took a sip of his scotch. "Drunk one night stand gone wrong." He sighed.

Aubrey nodded her head slowly and took a sip of her drink as well. "Well she's got a father who loves her and a great aunt, too."

"Yeah Chloe was a big help. I didn't know what to do. She and Tom really stepped in when I didn't know what to do."

"You can always count on Chloe." Aubrey assured him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Aunt Chloe said Aubrey's staying with her for a couple of days!" Rosie squealed, hopping into his lap.

Aubrey laughed at her actions and then looked up at Chloe.

"Well, maybe we can all get together again if she would like to." Jesse told her, looking up at Aubrey and Chloe.

"What do you think, Rosie? Would you like that?" Chloe asked her.

Rosie nodded her head. Aubrey thought it was going to fall off of her little body.

"I tell you what, if it's okay with your daddy and Aubrey, we can go out tomorrow after school."

"Please daddy!" she begged.

"It's not up to me, princess."

Rosie snapped her head and looked over at Aubrey who was observing the young girls shenanigans. She stuck her bottom lip out slightly and looked at Aubrey with her warm brown eyes. Man, she could do a mean puppy-dog face.

"How could I say no to you?" Aubrey laughed, rubbing her thumb across Rosie's chin.

"It's settled! Tomorrow we will all go out before Aubrey returns back to work." Chloe exclaimed.

"Yay!" Rosie cheered.

* * *

For the rest of the night, Aubrey tuned the rest of the world out. She talked to Rosie and got to know her. She loved kids, and she wanted a family at some point. Mister Right just hadn't come along yet.

Jesse watched as Aubrey talked to Rosie. It was a new side of her most people would never get to see. He couldn't help but smile as he watched his daughter ask her so many questions. Rosie typically stuck with the people she knew, but she instantly warmed up to Aubrey for some reason.

* * *

"Well Rosie, it was a pleasure to meet you. I will see you tomorrow right after school!" Aubrey told her, wrapping her in a hug.

"See you tomorrow!" Rosie squealed.

"Nice seeing you, Jess. I'll see you tomorrow." Aubrey said quieter.

"You too, Aubrey. Take care!"

* * *

"So, what do you think about Rosie?" Chloe asked her as they were curled up on her couch in their pajamas.

"She's a sweetheart. He is doing a great job."

"Did he tell you?" she asked softer.

Aubrey nodded and picked at a loose string on her pants. "It's good that he had you and Tom for help. It means a lot to him."

"Well, if you didn't move away, he could have had you for help too." Chloe added.

"If I didn't move away, he wouldn't have a kid." Aubrey mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked with confusion in her voice.

"Obviously you don't know the full story. He asked me out, but I said no because all I wanted to do was leave. I guess he just handled it a little differently than I expected he would." Aubrey explained.

"So basically, if you hadn't have left, he wouldn't be a father, and you'd be dating him if not married already?"

"I don't know, Chloe. Let's not think about the 'what if's'. Don't live in the past, but the present."

"Alright, Bree. I think I'm going to call it a night. I have to work tomorrow."

"Okay Chloe. Thanks for letting me crash here!"

"Girl, I would let you live here if you were to move back." Chloe told her.

* * *

Aubrey woke up to an empty house and a note on the coffee pot.

_Hey Bree. Feel free to help yourself with whatever. My place is your place. I should be home by 11:30, so we can go out since R is done with preschool at noon. I'll see you then._

_-me_

Aubrey poured herself a cup of coffee and went to get ready for the day, starting with a shower.

At around 11:00, Chloe called her.

"Hey Chlo! What's up?"

"_Hey Aubrey! I'm sorry, but I'm going to be stuck at the office for a while. Apparently there's a board member here for some big meeting that they decided not to tell us about. I already called Jesse, and he said he'd swing by and pick you up at 11:30."_

"Oh, alright then." Aubrey muttered. She was expecting Chloe to be there to break the awkwardness between her and Jesse, but now she wasn't going to be there. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"_See you tonight, bree. I'm so sorry."_

"It's alright, Chlo. I know how busy work can get sometimes. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later."

Aubrey finished getting ready and was waiting on Jesse. On the dot, he pulled in and honked the horn. Aubrey locked the door with the key Chloe had left and walked out towards his car. Jesse got out and opened up the door for her. Even though she broke his heart five years ago, he still acted like a complete gentleman.

"Good morning Aubrey!" he greeted her with a grin.

"Morning, Jess." She said kindly.

"Rosie has been looking forward to this. She couldn't stop talking about it. She really likes you."

"That's good, right? I mean, you never really want to be on the bad side of a child."

"I guess so. I'm still learning all this stuff about kids and parenting."

"You seem to have the hang of it so far!" Aubrey assured him.

"As long as it seems that way, I guess I'm doing well." He joked.

* * *

Jesse and Aubrey walked into Rosie's school to pick her up, just as he had done every day so far this year.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she squealed and ran into his arms as soon as she saw him walk in.

"Hey princess!" He said, picking her up in his arms and kissing her forehead. "Look who's here!" he said, turning around so she could see Aubrey.

"Aubrey! You came!" she squealed.

Rosie squirmed out of Jesse's arms and ran over to Aubrey. She latched her in a bear hug and wouldn't let go. Aubrey picked her up and looked over at Jesse with a small grin on her face.

"Hey kiddo! How was your day?" she asked, adjusting her weight to one side.

"It was fantabulous!" She exclaimed.

"Fantabulous?"

"Yeah! Daddy made it up! It means so much more than fabulous!" she giggled.

"Oh, I see!" Aubrey laughed. "Well let's get going!" She added, following Jesse back to the car.

Rosie held on to Aubrey as they walked. She played with her hair. She seemed to have found it fascinating.

"You have pretty hair!" she told Aubrey.

"It's not as pretty as yours! You have beautiful hair. It's just like your daddy's!" she giggled.

"You think daddy has pretty hair?" she asked with excitement.

Aubrey blushed at the four year old's question for some reason. "Your daddy has very nice hair." She admitted, earning a fit of giggles from Rosie.

* * *

Aubrey sat across the table from Jesse and Rosie in the restaurant. She couldn't get over how much they looked alike, seeing them side by side. It was uncanny.

"Aunt Chloe couldn't make it this time, princess. She'll be here next time though." Jesse told her once Rosie noticed it was just the three of them there.

"Okay. Can I have chicken fingers?" she asked, looking up at him with her big beady eyes.

"Of course, princess." He told her.

"Man, she's got you wrapped around her pinky." Aubrey pointed out.

"Stay long enough, she'll have you too. It's her gift." Jesse laughed.

"What does that mean daddy?"

"It means we would do anything for you."

"Oh! Okay!" she squealed.

* * *

After lunch, they drove around the city for a little bit until Aubrey pointed out that Rosie was asleep.

"I figured it wouldn't take long today." He admitted. "Her nap time is right after lunch, and there was a lot of excitement for her these past two days."

"I miss nap times. If I could take naps after lunch before going back to work, I probably wouldn't stress as much." Aubrey told him.

"Why don't you just take time off? That way you can relax!"

"I don't know. I've never really thought of it before. I'm so used to going into work every day. It was weird for me to not be there yesterday or today." She admitted.

"Well, everyone deserves a little time off at some point." He told her.

* * *

Aubrey watched as Jesse carried his daughter to her bedroom and put her in bed. She never thought he, of all people, would be the first parent from their little group at college. It tugged on her heart a little bit, seeing how he was around her. He loved her more than anything in the entire world, and he would do anything for her. It was sweet.

Aubrey sat down on the couch next to Jesse. They hadn't talked in five years, but it felt like they hadn't really been apart, minus the whole him having a kid thing.

"So, what's going on in your life? You know mine now." He laughed.

"Not a lot. Just work work work." She sighed.

"What? No guy yet?"

"Nope! I've been so busy with cases that I haven't had time for any dates."

"You really should leave time for yourself while you have it. One day, there's going to be someone who takes up all your time. Even though you love it, you still miss having that time set aside just for you."

"I don't think I've ever given it much thought. I've always been work focused or school focused."

"So I've learned." He mumbled.

"I'm really sorry, Jess." She tried.

"Don't worry about it, Aubs."

Aubrey's heart sank. She hadn't been called that in over five years. That was his nickname just for her. He said she needed a unique nickname that no one else called her like "bree" or whatever. So he called her Aubs from then on.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have Rosie, and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"She's a lucky girl to have a guy like you as her father. You make sure that if you ever find someone to be like a mother to her, that she will be the best thing for her."

"I promise." He sighed, looking over at her.

Aubrey was struggling to keep her eyes open. These past few days had been exhausting even though she didn't do much. It was so new to her, that it wore her out. Eventually it got to the point where she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She laid her head on the couch and just fell asleep.

Jesse laughed at her quietly. He pulled a blanket up over her and let her sleep in peace.

* * *

Aubrey woke up to the faint sound of a tv running in the background. She wasn't exactly sure what it was or even what time it was for that matter. She got up and followed the sound. She slowly opened the door and saw Rosie curled up with Jesse with her eyes glued to the laptop screen. Of course.

Jesse's eyes popped up and so did a smile on his face. "Well good morning sleeping beauty!" he teased.

"Aubrey! You're awake!" Rosie squealed, fully focused on her now.

"I guess I was just overly tired or something!" Aubrey told them.

"Come here! We're watching Finding Nemo!" she exclaimed, patting the spot on the bed next to her.

Aubrey looked up at Jesse for an answer. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do. Jesse sat up and adjusted himself. He pulled Rosie closer to him, creating more room, answering her silent question.

Aubrey took her seat next to Rosie as they continued to watch the movie.

"It's my favorite movie in the entire world, and I've seen a lot of movies with Daddy!" she told Aubrey.

"I'm sure you have. Your dad is quite the movie watcher."

"We love them so much! He has so many of them! Oh my goodness, it's nuts!"

Aubrey laughed at her little expressions. "I bet it is!"

"You could watch the ones I'm not supposed to watch with him. That way he doesn't have to watch them alone!" she exclaimed, earning awkward laughs from both Jesse and Aubrey.

"Rosie, she doesn't want to watch movies. She's got a lot of work to do, okay princess?"

"Why do you have so much work to do? Don't you ever take a break?" Rosie asked her curiously.

"Not really. I work a lot. It keeps me busy."

"But then you can't watch movies with Daddy if you're busy."

"I suppose that's true." Aubrey admitted

"Okay, Rosie. That's enough. Leave Aubrey alone. She's just visiting for a little bit." He said, his voice a little bit firmer.

"Where do you live then, Aubrey?"

"Oh, I live in New York."

"Really? That's so cool!" she giggled, her eyes full of excitement.

"Yeah, but I think I might stick around for a bit longer than planned." She said, shooting a wink towards Jesse.

"Really?" he asked with a hint of happiness in his voice.

Aubrey nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm enjoying myself. A wise man once told me to save some time for myself." She smirked.

"What a wise man, indeed." Jesse smirked.

"Now you can watch movies with Daddy!" Rosie squealed.

"Yes, now I can watch movies with Daddy." Aubrey assured her, rubbing the top of Rosie's head.

Rosie looked up at Aubrey with a huge grin on her face. "Maybe you can be like a mommy too!"

"One step at a time, kiddo." Aubrey whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We meet again. Okay, so this was originally just supposed to be a one shot, but Alexis and I just sort of fell in love with it, and someone thought it should be continued as well. I guess you guys got lucky? Hopefully this chapter lives up to your expectations! Tell me what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Aubrey sat around the kitchen table with Chloe. Chloe decided to come home for lunch today rather than working straight thru it. Aubrey wasn't really hungry, but she still sat with her and chatted. Aubrey didn't really regret taking the extra time off, but she did miss being busy. She loved being able to go and do stuff, so she always would ask Chloe if she needed anything to be done. Chloe would throw her head back and laugh at her whenever she asked.

"Aubrey, you always work! Do you not know how to relax?"

Aubrey turned red and started to protest. Luckily her cellphone started ringing. She was hoping it was someone from the office calling to ask her for help on something. It wasn't. It was Jesse.

Jesse Swanson. The guy who was a really great friend throughout out college, but he seemed to want more. Aubrey wasn't looking for more. She was looking to get out of there. She wanted to go and start her own life without having to worry about others while in the process. She high-tailed it out of there at first sign of the chase. Nothing inside of her ever told her to stop and think of how she could have handled that entire situation better. Jesse, left heartbroken, had to turn to something to distract himself from the girl he had fallen head over heels for. That something just happened to be alcohol, which led to Kristen. She eventually led to Rosie, Jesse's daughter whom he loved more than anything in the entire world.

_"Hey Aubrey! I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor?" he asked as soon as she answered her phone._

_"Sure Jesse. I need something to do anyways. I'm driving Chloe insane." Aubrey admitted._

_"I have a meeting in like two minutes and I won't be able to make it in time to pick Rosie up. I was hoping you'd be able to pick her up for me. I can meet you at the restaurant for lunch."_

_"Oh, um, sure! That's fine! We will see you then!"_

_"Great! Thank you so much! I'll call her school and let them know you'll be picking her up."_

_"It's not a problem! I'll talk to you later!"_

"Everything alright?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Yeah, can you do me a favor? Well, I guess it's technically for Jesse. He is running late and can't pick up Rosie on time from school. Can you take me to go get her and then take us to Perkins? Jesse is going to meet me there after his meeting."

"Sure! I think I can manage that! Then I can see my little pipsqueak again!" Chloe squealed.

"Okay awesome!"

"We should probably get going soon, then." Chloe pointed out, taking note of the time.

"Oh, right! Let me just get my bag." Aubrey muttered, running to the room she was staying in at Chloe's and grabbing her bag off the bed.

* * *

Aubrey walked into Rosie's school, for some reason a little nervous. She made her way to the room. She remembered from the day Jesse brought her before they went out to lunch. Before she decided the random decision to stay a little while longer.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Rosie. Jesse said he was going to call…" Aubrey trailed off.

"It's finally nice to put a name with a face. She talks about you. A lot." The lady told her. She disappeared and returned with Rosie by her side.

"Hey kiddo!" Aubrey said excitedly.

"Aubrey! What are you doing here? Where's daddy?" she asked, a little scared with Jesse not being there.

"He is busy working, but he asked me to come get you. He's going to meet us at lunch!" she assured her.

"Oh okay!" Rosie giggled, her eyes full of energy. She slipped her hand into Aubrey's as they walked out to Chloe's car.

"Aunt Chloe's here!" Aubrey told her as they approached the car.

"Really?" Rosie beamed.

"Rosie! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Chloe squealed, engulfing the four year old in a massive bear hug.

"Aunt Chloe!" she cheered.

* * *

Chloe dropped Aubrey and Rosie off at the restaurant that Jesse took her to sometimes.

"When will daddy get here?" she asked, looking around for him.

"He should be here soon, Rosie." She told her, checking her phone for any message from him.

"Can I get chicken fingers?"

"Of course you can, sweetie!"

The waitress came over and brought them their drinks. "Are you girls ready to order?" she asked them.

"I think so. She would like a kid's chicken fingers, and I would like a grilled cheese."

"Wait! I want a grilled cheese too!" Rosie interjected.

"I thought you wanted chicken?" Aubrey asked, surprised by her sudden change of mind.

"I did! But now I want a grilled cheese!"

"Okay then. I guess scratch the chicken for a kid's grilled cheese." Aubrey told the waitress.

"Okay, I'll send that right in!"

As soon as the waitress left, Jesse walked in. He spotted them from across the room and made his way to their booth. Rosie's eyes lit up as soon as she saw him!

"Daddy!" she squealed.

"Hey princess!" he said. Jesse leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Ew daddy! You have cooties!" she cried.

"I don't have cooties!"

"Yes you do! Guys have cooties!" she defended herself.

Jesse walked over towards Aubrey. She couldn't help but laugh at Rosie's little outburst. That was, until she felt Jesse's lips on the top of her head. Aubrey froze at his actions. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"See! She didn't die! Therefore, I do not have cooties." Jesse told Rosie, his hand still on Aubrey's shoulder.

"But she looks like she's about to. Her face is all red!" Rosie pointed out.

Aubrey tried to hide her face from Jesse, but he caught a little glimpse and laughed softly.

"Sorry about that." He told her, sitting down beside her. "So! What did you two order for lunch?" he asked, changing the topic since Aubrey was a little shocked still.

"I got grilled cheese just like Aubrey!" Rosie proclaimed proudly.

"No chicken fingers today?" Jesse asked in shock. Rosie always wanted chicken fingers for lunch.

"Nope! I want to eat what a big girl eats! Aubrey eats grilled cheese, so I'm going to eat grilled cheese!"

"You're growing up on me!" Jesse told her, shaking his head. "And you're influencing her." He smirked towards Aubrey.

"Sorry about that." Aubrey smirked.

The waitress came back and asked Jesse what he wanted to eat and quickly disappeared back into the crowd of people once more.

"So. How much longer are you sticking around for?" Jesse asked Aubrey curiously.

"Not too much longer. I need to go back to work soon. I figured I'd fly up on Friday. That leaves me two days."

"Oh." Jesse's voice dropped. His heart sunk. He enjoyed Aubrey being there. He loved catching up, but most of all, he loved how much Rosie loved her. "Well let's go get some drinks before you leave. Are you busy tonight?" he asked.

"Not as far as I'm concerned." Aubrey admitted.

"Great. I'll get Chloe to watch her tonight, so we can go out before you go back to New York."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hey princess, how would you like to go to Aunt Chloe's tonight?" Jesse asked Rosie who was caught up in coloring her kids menu to pay attention to them.

"Aunt Chloe's? Please daddy!" she begged.

"Okay it's settled!"

"Are you going to be there?" Rosie asked Aubrey.

"No sweetie. I'm not. Your daddy and I are going to hang out."

"Oh! Are you going to watch a movie with him or something?"

"I don't know yet. It's his decision." Aubrey told her, trying not to look over at Jesse who was, without a doubt, smiling like an idiot.

After lunch, Jesse drove Aubrey back to Chloe's before he took Rosie home for her nap.

"I'll be here at 6:30." He told her as she got out of his car.

"See you then!" she smiled.

Aubrey was actually looking forward to a little alone time with Jesse. She loved Rosie to death, and she gets that he's a father now. Rosie will always be first. She was a little happy that he wanted to take her out to drinks though.

* * *

At 6:30 sharp, Jesse pulled into Chloe's driveway with Rosie.

He knocked on the door and waited for Chloe to open it. Rosie was so excited when Chloe opened the door and greeted the two of them.

"Hey munchkin! Are you ready to have some fun?" Chloe said excitedly, earning a big nod from Rosie.

Jesse walked in and handed Rosie to Chloe. Aubrey walked out of the bedroom and saw them. They wouldn't necessarily call it a "date", yet, but Jesse couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was wearing a little black dress that was slightly longer than fingertip length. Her hair was curled and pulled out of her face. She looked beautiful.

"You ready?" she asked, pulling Jesse's attention to reality.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go." He said, ushering her out the door and to his car.

Jesse opened the door for her and helped her into his car.

"Where to?" she asked curiously.

"Well I figured we'd go catch a bite and then grab a drink or two."

"Off we go!" she joked as they made their way to the restaurant.

"So…have you enjoyed your extra time off?" Jesse asked her as they waited on their food.

"Yeah, it's been really nice." She admitted.

"We are all really going to miss you." He said with sadness in his voice.

"I'm going to miss you guys too."

"You should come visit more."

"I'll think about it. Maybe I'll come down for Thanksgiving if I can get off." She told him.

"Yeah, you totally should! We all get together and have our own weird Thanksgiving. It's been our tradition since Rosie came into our lives. Chloe and Tom came over, and they invited Beca and Stacie, so we all had a unique dinner together."

"Sounds fun." Aubrey said, faking a smile. It did sound fun. It just made her a little sad. She didn't have time for Thanksgiving anymore. She called her parents, but she hadn't been home in years. She just couldn't leave work.

"We'd love to have you. Well, I know Rosie and I would. Chloe would too." He added, trying not to seem weird.

"We will see, Jess."

"Maybe we can take a little weekend trip up to New York one week. You in Manhattan?"

Aubrey nodded her head.

"That would be fun. I could take Rosie to go see a Broadway show or something."

"Well, if you ever decide to visit, let me know, and I will give you a tour of all the good places." She said sincerely. She actually, for some odd reason, really wanted them to come up there. Even if it were for a few days, she wouldn't mind.

"I'd like that." He said softly, adding a little grin her way.

They sat in awkward silence, trying to avoid making eye contact with each other. Aubrey looked around the restaurant at all the people. They had so many stories. They had so much from their past. That's what made them, well, them. Unique. Different. Whatever word comes to mind. Jesse was looking at Aubrey, but every time she'd glance at him, he'd dart his eyes away from her and would look at the table or the ground. He tried to be sly, but she saw.

"Something you see?" she asked, hoping he'd talk about it.

"Hmm, what?" he said a little shaken.

"You keep staring."

"Oh. I didn't think you saw." He said, a little flustered. His cheeks burned red as Aubrey smiled at him. "You, um, you look nice today." He managed to get out without choking on his own saliva. "Not that you don't look nice usually. That's not what I meant. I just mean-"

"I know what you mean, Jess. Thank you. It means more than you think." She cut him off.

Jesse smiled and held his head a little higher now that he managed to get out of the hole he dug himself into.

After they ate, Jesse paid, putting up a good fight of course, and they drove to the bar that Bumper owned.

"Who brought the Queen B to my bar?" Bumper called as he spotted Aubrey.

"Nice to see you too, Bumper." Aubrey grinned.

"She's my date. I mean guest. Whatever. I brought her." Jesse stumbled over his words, leaving him flustered yet again.

"Jesse wanted to grab a drink before I headed back home." Aubrey covered for him.

"So you meet the kid?" Bumper asked, setting two napkins in front of them at the bar. "Pick your poison." He added.

"Vodka cran please. And yeah. She's a sweetheart." Aubrey admitted.

"Rosie is in love with Aubrey." Jesse added.

"Skills, Posen. That kid doesn't warm up to anybody." Bumper said, setting the drinks down.

"Well, we just sort of clicked I guess."

"I don't know what we are going to do when you're gone. She's going to miss you. I mean, I will too, but I guess I can adjust better than a four year old can." Jesse admitted.

"I shouldn't have stayed longer." Aubrey sighed.

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Well she got attached."

"Don't worry about us. We will be fine. You just have to make sure that you take of yourself. Save a little time for you. You deserve that, at least."

"It's not that easy up there."

"I don't really know what it's like up there, but I do know you deserve free time. Meet a guy! Fall in love! Get married, and live happily ever after! That sort of stuff!"

"I don't think I'm meant for any of that."

"That's nonsense! Any guy would be lucky to fall in love with you!" he assured her. "I know I am." He thought to himself. He didn't want to scare her away again.

"I guess we will just have to see where the pieces settle."

"Can you promise me one thing when you go back home?"

"I think I can do that." She giggled. He always loved when she would giggle. It warmed his heart.

"Keep in touch. Don't be a stranger to us anymore."

"I'll do my best, Jess."

"You better, Aubs." He teased.

Man, she loved when he said that. Aubrey quickly shook any and all of those thoughts from her mind. She'd be going back to New York in a day, and she didn't want it to be an emotional departure from her friends. She couldn't get attached again. She just couldn't do that to herself or him.

* * *

The car ride back to Chloe's was quiet for the most part. That was until Don't You Forget About Me came on the Classics radio station. Aubrey and Jesse belted it out without regret. Aubrey laughed at Jesse's awkward dance moves. She felt her heart flutter as his voice rang throughout his car, and as usual, he was completely mesmerized by her voice. He thought she had the voice of an angel. It gave him chills.

Jesse walked Aubrey up to Chloe's front door.

"I had a really great time tonight. Thanks for joining me." Jesse told her.

"It was fun!" she admitted.

Jesse kept staring at Aubrey under the moonlight. She looked so beautiful. It was impossible not to look at her.

"Everything okay?" she asked. " You're staring again."

"Just thinking." He sighed.

"What about?" she asked curiously.

Jesse hesitated. He had a 50/50 shot. She'd either get scared and go home and not talk to him for another five minutes, or she wouldn't mind and possibly, just maybe, might feel the same way. He sighed. He got over once. He could do it again if he had to.

"How much I want to kiss you right now." He said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Aubrey's stomach tightened. She had to catch her breath since she was not expecting that. A small grin swept across her face. Her heart fluttered inside of her chest.

"What if I were to let you?" she asked quietly.

Jesse cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. It was everything he ever thought it would be. All of those sleepless nights over her, worth it. All of his fears went away as soon as he felt her soft, warm lips up against his. She was actually letting him kiss her. Actually, no. She kissed back. She was definitely kissing back. Jesse could tell.

Aubrey gave in. She knew she'd be leaving soon. She didn't want to leave again on bad terms. The kiss was perfect. It was more perfect than anything she could imagine. She couldn't help but smile as she kissed him. All those years. She could have been the one to wake up to his kisses on her body. She could have been the first thing he saw when he woke up in the morning.

* * *

"Ew! She's getting his cooties!" Rosie squealed from inside as they spied on them from Chloe's living room window.

"It's okay, Rosie. They got their cootie shots. They can kiss without getting cooties now. That's what grownups do!" Chloe assured her. She was grinning from ear to ear as she saw her best friends finally kissing. She'd been waiting so long for that.

"Does this mean she's going to be my mommy since she kissed daddy on the lips?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I couldn't tell you that."

"Well, I'd like her as a mommy." Rosie proclaimed.

"Do you think she'd be a good mommy?"

Rosie nodded with excitement. "Her and daddy should get married so they can be mommy and daddy!"

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's what you do when you're in love!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I honestly don't know what I'm doing with this story, being completely honest. I do know it's almost midnight, and I feel the need to write, so you're welcome I guess!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Aubrey never meant to get attached. It's not like she had a checklist of things to accomplish while she went back and getting emotionally attached was at the top of the list. No. It was supposed to be a three day trip. Fly in, say hi, return home. It got a little more complicated than that. She didn't know why. No, wait. She did. She definitely did. Jesse. I guess you could say Rosie as well. She was an added bonus.

It started off innocent, briefly keeping up as Aubrey got back into the hectic work flow she had up and dropped in a split second decision. It started off as random texts every once in a while. He let her know how everyone was doing. How Rosie was doing. Innocent, right? Texts turned into longer emails about things they could have easily talked about via text. Jesse dragged on and on about seemingly unimportant things, but Aubrey didn't mind. She read the emails over and over again, hearing his voice in her head as her eyes focused on each word of each line.

It didn't take long for phone calls to start. He started to call once a week or so, just to "check up on her" and "see how she was doing". His texts and emails didn't stop, but Aubrey got to hear his actual voice now. There were a few occasions where Aubrey had free time, so she would pick up her phone and call him. Typically he called her, so when she called, he made sure to answer, knowing she wouldn't be sure when she'd be able to call again. That's still innocent, right?

Weekly phone calls turned into every other day phone calls, which somehow managed to become daily phone calls. He'd call her whenever something reminded him of her. Jesse would tell her about it, and would talk about nonsense Aubrey didn't really care about. She never would say anything to him about it, though. She would just sit there and listen to him go on and on about it. She loved hearing him so passionate about whatever he was going on about again. It's almost like it inspired her to an extent.

It didn't take much longer for the video chats to begin. They could easily find themselves staring at each other on their little computer screens. Sometimes Rosie would join in and tell Aubrey about school and her friends. It made Aubrey miss them even more. It may have only been a few months, but she was growing up so fast. Sure, she's still four, but that's the age when they start to mature into their personalities, right? She'd talk about her "dollies" and playing with them. Jesse would periodically bring up movies that he thought Aubrey would like. He'd send her on her way to go watch them and call her with her opinion on them. It was their little thing now.

* * *

It was a typical night of talking on skype with Rosie seated next to Jesse on his big bed. She had her new favorite doll in her arms, and she was telling Aubrey how much she missed her like usual. Aubrey would always say how much she missed her too.

_"When are you coming back?" _Rosie asked innocently.

_"She's busy, princess. Aubrey has to work." _Jesse pointed out.

"Tuesday." Aubrey finally said, throwing Jesse a little off guard.

Rosie cheered for joy since she finally would get to see her again.

"_Really? You're coming back?" _Jesse asked enthusiastically.

Aubrey nodded her head and smiled. "Surprise?"

"_When were you planning on telling me this?"_

"I was thinking Tuesday when I asked you to pick me up from the airport." She teased. That was actually her plan, though.

_"Are you staying with Chloe?" _

"Aw man! I know I had to do something!" Aubrey sighed, finally remembering what she had been forgetting to do all day. "I'll call her tonight and see."

_"Well, if you need to, we have an extra room. I can always make the bed up for you."_ Jesse suggested.

"Thanks, but I think Chloe would be a little offended if I didn't at least tell her I was coming in the first place."

"_She'd probably kill you but still be happy to see you." _He joked.

"You're probably right."

"_I miss you, Aubs."_

Aubrey's stomach burned. He was a thousand miles away, but he could still make her feel nauseous with his flirty little comments. "I miss you too, Jess. I'll see you soon."

_"I'll be waiting." _

* * *

Aubrey shot Jesse a quick text as she boarded the plane.

_A: Hey! Getting on the plane now. I should touch down in two and a half hours give or take. I'll be the one looking like a tourist from New York! _

_J: Great! I'll be the one with the sign._

Aubrey smiled as she read the text before turning her phone off for take-off. It was her least favorite part of flying, but she would at least get to see everyone soon enough. Chloe was beyond thrilled that she was coming back, but she had family over until Wednesday. Chloe's family loved Aubrey to death, but Chloe's place was definitely not big enough for everyone. She had to compromise a little bit.

Aubrey would stay at Jesse's for the night in his extra room, and then she'd make her way to Chloe's. It would be a little less awkward that way. Aubrey didn't necessarily like the idea of sleeping over at Jesse's, especially since there was a child around. Jesse assured her it would be fine, and that they could be adult about it. As long as that occurred, she could manage one night there. It's not like she didn't like the people or anything.

* * *

Aubrey got off the plane and managed to find her suitcase quickly. She made her way thru the terminal and to the main entrance. She looked all around for any sign of Jesse. It was a little ironic since he said he had a sign. As people filed past her and to their designated drivers, she spotted Jesse. He was as dorky as ever, holding up a white piece of paper that said "Aubs" on it. Aubrey quickly made her way over towards him, and his eyes lit up like the Christmas tree in Central Park.

"Hey! It's so good to see you!" he said, wrapping her in a big hug.

"Hey Jesse! It's so nice to see you too!" she admitted, letting the hug continue. She didn't want it to end. She could stand there and hug Jesse all night long if she was able to.

"How have you been? How was your flight? Are you hungry? Tired? You look great!" he bombarded.

"Easy there tiger!" she teased. "One question at a time."

"How was your flight?" he finally settled on.

"It was fine. Take-off was the worst. Typical. But other than that, it was smooth sailing." She assured him.

"That's fantastic!" he said excitedly. Jesse grabbed her suitcase and led her to his car out front. He popped her bag in the back and opened the car door for her.

"Are you hungry or tired?"

"Ummm a little bit of both, honestly." She sighed.

"Wendy's and then home?"

"Sounds like a plan." She told him with a small grin on her face. "Where did you ship Rosie off to?"

"She's with Beca and Stacie today."

"You left her alone with Beca…and Stacie?"

"They actually aren't bad with her! It's weird. It's the only time I've seen them be mature." He pointed out.

"That's a little unique."

"I figured I'd drop you off first and then go get her. That way you can have time to unwind before a rambunctious four year old comes and destroys your sense of peace."

"Bring it on." She smirked.

* * *

Jesse carried Aubrey's suitcase to his spare room. He had made the bed up and everything just for her. He didn't really want her to feel out of place as much as possible.

Aubrey sat down on the edge of the bed as she watched Jesse show her where everything was. She couldn't help but smirk as he moved around the room quickly.

"You know, I think I actually forgot to get something at the airport." Aubrey smirked.

"What's that?" he asked curiously. It looked like she had everything when he first saw her. He didn't exactly know what she could have forgotten.

Aubrey stood up and walked over towards Jesse. Without breaking eye contact, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pressed her lips against his with a little more power than he was expecting from her.

Jesse put his hands around her waist and pulled her into the kiss. They had only kissed once before, and it was the best kiss either one of them had ever experience in their life. It felt nice to do that again. It still felt like heaven.

"Wait, nope. I got it." She giggled, wrapping her arms around his waist. Aubrey wasn't exactly planning on kissing him but something took over her, whether it was all the emotions from missing him or the desire to just feel his lips on hers again.

"I could get used to that." He smirked.

"I'm sure you could!" She couldn't help but laugh.

"I need to go pick up Rosie. Do you want to come, or do you want to hang out here?"

Aubrey pandered for a second before answering. "I think I'll stay here. I'll probably just close my eyes for a little bit. I didn't sleep at all on the plane." She explained.

"Okay, Aubs. I'll be back in a little while." He told her before heading to pick up his daughter.

Aubrey laid back on the bed and briefly shut her eyes. Before she knew it, she was out. This sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her.

* * *

"Rosie, your dad's here!" Beca called as she let Jesse in to her and Stacie's apartment. They have been roommates for three years now. It was a very weird pairing, but Stacie was about the only girl Beca could tolerate living with out of those who needed a roommate.

Rosie came running to the front door and leaped into his arms. "Daddy! Daddy! I drew you this!" she squealed, handing him a piece of paper with colors all over it.

"What is it princess?"

"It's us! See! There's you and me on the couch!" she pointed to the figures meant to be people.

"Who's that?" Jesse asked, pointing to the person next to him on the couch.

"That's Aubrey, silly!"

"Why did you draw Aubrey, little goose?" he asked. It was really confusing that she had drawn Aubrey into the picture.

"Because she's family, right?"

"I, um uh, I guess so?" Jesse didn't really know what to say to his daughter. "No Rosie, she's not family. She's daddy's girlfriend or something. Actually I'm not sure what we are yet." He thought about it. He decided not to add anything else.

"So did you pick up who you needed to at the airport?" Beca asked curiously. Jesse hardly asked them to babysit unless he was desperate. He normally went to Chloe first. It's not that the girls didn't mind babysitting, they just weren't used to having a child around.

"Yeah, I did. They're all settling in back at home." He said softer.

"So who is it?" she asked. Jesse had peaked her curiosity when he said they were at his place.

"You'll find out on Thursday!"

"Oh right, Thanksgiving. A time where Americans get together and binge all day. An excuse to get fat. Then they all take naps so they can go Black Friday shopping because they can't afford what they want at original price." She smirked. "I almost forgot."

"Well don't forget. My house on Thursday. I think we are meeting up at noon, and we will eat at like one or two."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. I think Stacie is making her pie again, so we can make sure to save room for it."

"Awesome! Thank you so much!" he said, pulling out his wallet and handing her forty dollars, twenty for Beca and twenty for Stacie.

"Thank you!" she said, grabbing the money from him and handing twenty to Stacie. "See you on Thursday!"

* * *

When Jesse finally came home with Rosie, Aubrey was still sound asleep on the bed. Jesse came in to check on her and see if she needed anything. He couldn't help but laugh at her being already asleep. Work must really drain all of her energy. Jesse pulled out a blanket and draped it over her so she wouldn't get cold. He kissed the top of her head and closed the door behind him so Rosie wouldn't disturb her.

"Who's here Daddy?" Rosie asked curiously.

"She's sleeping right now, princess. You'll see her later." He explained, picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom. "It's getting late though, so bath time, story time, and bed time."

"I don't want to take a bath!" she screamed.

"Why not?"

"I hate bath time!"

"Since when, Rosie? You normally love bath time!" he told her, taken aback by her outburst.

"Since now!" she yelled, struggling to run away from him before he put her in the tub.

"Rosie Grace if you wake her up with your screaming, you will be in big trouble." He said sternly.

"Wake who up? Who Daddy? Who will I wake up?" she screamed.

Jesse was getting frustrated. She had never done that before. Rarely did he ever have to say her middle name. It just wasn't like her. "Okay, she's not going back to Beca." He thought.

Jesse heard a soft knock on the door. He turned around to see Aubrey standing there, holding in her laughs as he struggled to get Rosie in the tub. As soon as Rosie saw, she immediately stopped everything.

"Aubrey! Aubrey! Aubrey! You're here!" she squealed with a huge grin on her face.

"Yes, kiddo. I hear you're causing your daddy some problems, though." She said calmly.

"I don't want to take a bath!" she whined.

"Why don't you want to take a bath? Don't you want to be all clean for bed?" Aubrey asked her, bending down next to her.

Rosie shrugged her shoulders as best as a four year old could.

"Do you want to be a big girl like me?"

"Yeah!"

"Well big girls shower every single night!" Aubrey explained.

"Why?"

"So they can be all pretty in the morning. They also don't want to smell like a sweaty, stinky person when they're around others."

"Oh."

"So can you do me a favor and take a bath? It's not that bad!"

"Okay." She said, relinquishing power back to her dad.

"Thank you." Jesse mouthed to Aubrey, earning a small smile.

Aubrey stayed in there while Rosie took her bath to make sure she didn't act up again. Thankfully, she didn't, and she continued playing with her toys like nothing had happened.

* * *

Jesse carried Rosie to her room and tucked her into bed. He pulled out her favorite bedtime story and began reading it to her. It didn't take very long for Rosie to fall asleep tonight luckily, so Jesse didn't have to go through the entire story.

Aubrey sat on the couch and messed with her phone until Jesse came back out.

"You look exhausted." She giggled.

"Having a kid is a lot of work." He sighed, taking a seat next to her.

"I bet it is. But you make it look so easy." She teased.

"Thanks for your help back there. I'm really sorry she woke you up."

"Oh don't worry about it. It's probably good that I woke up so I can actually sleep tonight." She admitted.

"Yeah, sleeping is nice!" he sighed. Jesse looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "I'm just glad I don't have to go in to work tomorrow with the holiday. Rosie will probably sleep in, so I will be able to sleep in a little."

"Sleep is nice." She teased, leaning against his shoulder.

"Good. Is it bad that I'm ready to call it a night?"

"No. I'd say you deserve going to sleep this early."

"Well, that's good." He sighed. Aubrey could hear the exhaustion in his voice. If he didn't get up and go to bed soon, he'd be passed out on the couch in a matter of minutes.

"Alright, go on to sleep before you crash out here. I don't think that would be comfortable."

"Alright Aubs. I'm going."

Jesse got up off the couch. He helped Aubrey off the couch. He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. "Goodnight." He whispered before disappearing to his room.

Aubrey could feel the touch of his lips lingering on her cheek. She reached up and touched where his lips just were with the tips of her fingers. She could definitely get used to that. She made her way to her room and put on her pajamas and crawled under the covers to go to sleep.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, Aubrey woke up shivering. She got up and rummaged around in her suitcase for a pair of socks to put on. When she crawled back into bed, she couldn't seem to fall back asleep. She stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she gave up and went to the kitchen. She managed to find a glass, so she poured herself a small glass of water. Aubrey sat down on the couch and stared out the window. It was a pretty clear night out, and she could see all of the stars in the sky.

Aubrey heard a creak and snapped her head around quickly. She saw Jesse walking out of his room.

"Hey. Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

Aubrey shook her head. "Did I wake you?"

"No, don't worry. I had to use the bathroom and heard someone moving out here. I was just hoping it wasn't Rosie." He admitted, sitting down beside her. "Are you cold or something?" he asked, noticing she was curled up in a ball under a blanket.

Aubrey cracked a small smile. She pulled the blanket from over her feet and revealed her socks, wiggling her toes. Jesse knew Aubrey never slept in socks. She had to be freezing to even consider putting them on at night. "It makes me feet feel constricted." She had told him years ago.

Jesse wrapped his arms around her little body and pulled her closer to him. Aubrey curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. She tucked her feet under her body so they'd warm up a little bit. Jesse didn't say anything to her, but he stroked her hair as he felt her body rise and fall with her breaths. Aubrey could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier as she listened to the sound of Jesse's heartbeat. It was sort of like that effect it has on newborn puppies and kittens, the whole ticking clock to mimic their mother's heartbeat. She wrapped her arm around his stomach as she listened to it. It didn't take long for her to be asleep again. It's like he was a magician or something. Or she just couldn't sleep until she fell asleep in his arms. It was probably that one more than anything.

Jesse noticed Aubrey's breathing become longer and heavier. He couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had fallen asleep on him. It was kind of cute and innocent. It made him happy.

After a good twenty minutes or so, Jesse managed to pick up Aubrey and carry her to her room. He had gotten a lot of practice with Rosie falling asleep during movies. Aubrey wasn't much different. Maybe only a few pounds heavier, but that's about it. Jesse laid her in bed and pulled the covers up over her, tucking her in. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead gently.

"Goodnight, sweetie." He whispered before closing the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Okay so the next chapter, whenever that will be, will finally introduce Beca and Stacie more. Woo! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: Okay so this story is taking all of my creative juices! So I'm going to focus on this and then return to What's So Good About Perfection so I don't have distractions, aka this. This won't be too long. 10 Chapters max. Maybe not even that. It's decided. Okay I'm done. And also, I lied. I wasn't really feeling the whole Beca and Stacie part. Sorry.**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Aubrey woke up to a perky redhead sitting on the edge of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and focused them on her best friend.

"Can I help you?" she mumbled.

"You came in late last night. May I ask?" Chloe smirked

Aubrey looked down at her hands as a small smile appeared on her face.

"I figured so much." Chloe smirked, taking her silence as her answer.

"Chloe what am I doing?" Aubrey sighed, scooting over so her best friend could lay down beside her.

"You like Jesse!" she sing-songed.

Aubrey could feel her cheeks burning. She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't stop it. Of course she liked Jesse! She wouldn't have made time in her days to talk to him if she didn't like him. She didn't really think he'd ever like her again. Not after what she did. She didn't deserve a second chance for his love. But she was getting one. Somehow. Some way.

"Does it really matter that much, Chloe?" Aubrey sighed, lifting up her hand and dropping it on her face.

"I guess it doesn't _technically_ matter, Bree. I just haven't seen you this happy…ever, now that I think about it."

"Is it really that obvious?" she bit her lip and tried to hide her blushing.

Chloe turned her head so she could see Aubrey. She deviously smiled, "Just a teensy little bit," she giggled.

Aubrey groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I just can't do it. We're a thousand miles apart usually. I didn't_ want_ to get emotionally involved with him, but I can't help it. He just makes me feel like a squealish teenage girl. I get butterflies when I'm around him, and I blush every single time we touch."

"Aubrey, I know this isn't easy. You have your whole life up there in New York, but man, Jesse. Jesse wants to be in your life so badly. He won't shut up about you to me. He wants to be there for you, and he really just wants to be with you. I've never seen him like this towards a girl. What you two have is something incredibly special. Sure, no one would have ever expected you two to be a thing, but it's kind of cute."

"What am I going to do, Chloe?" Aubrey whined.

"You're going to go spend time with him today. We all are, but I'll keep everyone away from you two. Just see how the pieces fall, and you can go from there."

"I'm scared they're going to fall in the right places though."

"Well, then I'd be doing some major thinking." Chloe told her, pulling her out of bed. "Now go get ready. It's almost one."

"You let me sleep until one?"

* * *

Aubrey felt a sense of being overwhelmed as people kept showing up. It wasn't like there were a ton of people. It was only her, Chloe, Tom, Beca, Stacie, Benji, Donald, and Bumper along with Jesse and Rosie. It was just college friends. It was just college friends who she didn't want to confront her about something that could be going on between her and Jesse.

Aubrey snuck off to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water. She just needed a little breathing room.

"Hey, are you okay?" she heard a familiar voice ask.

Aubrey turned around and smiled back at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed some air." She sighed, setting the water down on the counter.

"Is everything alright, though?" Jesse asked, walking over towards her.

"Just a little overwhelmed with everything. It's nothing to worry about."

"Come on. Let's go outside." Jesse said, grabbing Aubrey's hand and pulling her to the door.

"But Jess, it's cold out!" she tried.

Jesse looked back and smiled is dorky grin at her. "I've got a jacket, you know!"

He closed the door behind them, and they sat down on the steps. Jesse slid is jacket off and placed it over Aubrey's shoulders, but she ended up slipping her arms through the sleeves. Jesse couldn't help but laugh at her as she pulled her arms close, trying to stay warm.

"So what's up, Aubs?"

"Like I said, I'm just a little overwhelmed with everything." Aubrey reiterated.

"I know that, silly. What's making you feel overwhelmed though? I want you to talk to me." He said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"It's just that," she started. "I don't really know what I'm doing. I mean, you live here, and I live in Manhattan for Christ's sake. What are we doing Jess?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everything. Us. This. What is this?" Aubrey asked, turning her head so she could see him better.

"It's whatever you want it to be, Aubs." Jesse sighed, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"That's the thing. I don't know what I want it to be. I care about you, Jess. I do. I really do. I just don't know about this."

"Why not? Why do you find it so…I can't think of the word right now, but you know what I mean!"

"Because you are here. You have all of these wonderful people who care about you. And you have a daughter! I'm just a person who lives a thousand miles away that somehow, managed to accidentally weasel her way back into your life." she said, her voice starting to crack ever so slightly.

"Aubrey," he said, pulling her chin towards him, "if I didn't like you or didn't want this to become something, I wouldn't have kissed you that night. I knew what I was getting into the moment I thought about it. If you think I haven't been thinking about this for the past few months nonstop, you're wrong. I knew the risks, yet I still did it anyways. When I saw you walk into the room that night, memories came flooding back. Good memories. You know, from when we were friends and such. Just seeing you, hurt. You looked so happy and well off, and I am still here but with a daughter now."

"Jess"

"No, hold on. Aubrey, when I saw you, I knew this was a second chance from God or something in the universe. I knew I wouldn't screw it up this time."

"You didn't screw it up the first time. I did." She mumbled.

"When I saw you with Rosie and how well you two were getting along, I really thought this could happen."

"Jesse, you're giving me a second chance that I don't deserve. I was such an idiot then. I didn't see what was waiting right there in front of me the whole time. I was so distracted by the future that I didn't see what was in the present. I'm just so thankful that I'm getting a chance to make things right. I don't want to ruin it again."

"You won't. Whatever we do, it's going to work. I promise you, Aubs." Jesse whispered, holding her tightly. "Now come on before you freeze to death." He smirked, standing up and giving her a hand up.

Jesse and Aubrey quietly snuck back inside and unthawed. Jesse gave Aubrey a small friendly hug before they decided to go see everyone.

"Let's eat!" Jesse called, and everyone filed in around the kitchen table.

"Another year with amazing friends! And we even have one more!" he said gesturing to Aubrey who was sitting next to him. "I'm so thankful for all of you. Knowing you guys has made such a huge difference in my life. I couldn't imagine life without any of you."

"Okay Swanson. Don't get all gushy!" Beca smirked from the other end of the table.

"Okay, I'll shut up now. Dig in!"

* * *

They sat around the table, eating and sharing stories, for a good hour or so, but they started to trinkle out. They had other things that needed to get accomplished, or they just wanted to go get drunk.

A few stayed behind, and Aubrey was one of them. She told Chloe she'd call when she was finished. She helped Jesse tidy up while Rosie sat in front of the television watching The Little Mermaid next to Beca. Man, she was a sucker for that kid.

"Thanks for helping me today." Jesse said as they finally closed the dishwasher.

"Oh, it's not a problem. I don't mind cleaning!" she assured him.

"No, I mean it. Thank you." Jesse wrapped his arms around Aubrey and held her close. He gently pressed his lips against her forehead. Aubrey couldn't help but smile and release a sigh of relief. She knew.

"So are you two like a thing now?" Beca asked, standing against the door frame as they awkwardly separated.

"Um, we were just, uh" Aubrey stuttered.

"Tsk tsk tsk. And here you thought I was going to be the one to break the 'No Treble' rule. No, no, no. It's you, Miss Leader of the Bellas."

"Beca, please." Aubrey tried, but was cut off again.

"You know, all day long, I've thought there was something that you two weren't sharing. If you were trying to keep it a secret, you shouldn't be all lovey dovey with other people in the house. Also, you might want to refrain from playing footsy under the table. We picked up on that one." She smirked, causing Aubrey to turn a bright shade of red.

"Beca, don't."

"Relax, Swanson. I'm not going to say anything about it. Although…am I supposed to say congratulations or something?" she smirked.

"Now that you've interrupted us, is there something you need?" Jesse asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Easy there tiger, I'm heading out. Luke and I are going out for drinks. He called me up and wanted to catch up, so why not, right?"

"Have fun, Beca. Be safe. Call me if you need to." He reminded her, just as he always has before she meets up with a guy.

"Stop being such a big brother." Beca whined before leaving them alone.

Jesse rolled his eyes and looked over at Aubrey. "You okay?"

Aubrey nodded her head as she took a sip of water.

"Positive?"

"I'm fine, Jess. I just wasn't expecting Beca to see anything or say anything, for that matter."

"Well, I think she was the last one to leave, so we are safe now."

"Unless Rosie sees us." Aubrey pointed out, nodding in the direction of his daughter, who was singing along with Ariel.

"She won't care. She's four. She's more fascinated with singing mermaids and fish than she is with me and my love life."

"Love life, huh?" Aubrey smirked, poking Jesse in the stomach.

"Well, I have a life, and there's someone I love!" he pointed out. "Like." He quickly corrected as soon as he realized what he said.

Aubrey froze. She couldn't move a muscle. She wasn't sure if she should be terrified or excited as to what he said. He definitely said love. It was as clear as day. He…loves her?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" he tried, taking a small step back.

"No, no. We all slip up sometimes. It's alright." She said coolly.

Before it could get anymore awkward between them, Rosie scuffled into the kitchen.

"Daddy, I'm sleepy." She whined, her face turning to a pout.

"You want to go to sleep now? It's only 6:30, princess."

"I'm sleepy, daddy. I'm sleepy."

"Okay, alright. Let's get you into bed." He said, scooping her up and carrying her out of the kitchen.

"Wait, I want Aubrey to come too!" she whined.

"You are really obsessed with her, aren't you!" Jesse joked.

"Well, I want her to be my mommy." Rosie exclaimed like she hadn't said anything remotely close to what she had just said.

"Rosie." Jesse stopped in his tracks. "You've got to understand something. Aubrey isn't going to be your mommy. She has her own life to take care of. You've got to stop saying things like that."

"Why? Why can't she be my mommy?" she started to scream.

"Hey kiddo, easy there. Don't scream." Aubrey said, trying to calm her down. "What's all this fuss about?"

"Daddy says you won't be my mommy. He says that you're too busy for me." Rosie pouted.

"That's not even what I said!" Jesse mumbled, upset that Rosie had to drag Aubrey into it.

"I'll tell you what. Right now, while you're daddy and I are friends, I will be like a big sister. I can do some things with you like a mommy, but I won't actually be your mommy. If you ever need me, you can tell daddy to call me, and I will talk to you while I'm at home, okay? Whatever you need. It will be almost like a mommy. How does that sound?"

"Will you play with me?"

"Of course I will kiddo!"

"Will you tuck me into bed when I'm sleepy?"

"I will when I'm in town, yes."

"Will you braid my hair and help me pick out clothes?"

"If that's what you want!"

"Sounds good!" she squealed.

"Alright, good. Now let's get you into bed."

Aubrey followed Jesse to Rosie's room and watched as he helped her get ready for bed. Jesse had always wanted kids. He said he loved how they got all goofy and sticky. He loved how they had real smiles before they really knew about the world and it starts to fade away.

"Aubrey!" Rosie called, patting the spot next to her on the bed. It was a tiny spot. Good thing Aubrey was tiny.

Rosie was curled up in bed next to Jesse, and he held a book in his hands. "It's story time!"

Jesse looked over at Aubrey who was barely on the bed with them. She was watching Rosie as she looked at the pictures that went along with the words he was reading.

_"Good night, stars. Good night, air. Good night, noises everywhere."_

Jesse leaned down and kissed the top of Rosie's head as her eyes started to close. "Goodnight, princess. Sweet dreams."

After Aubrey stood up, she pulled the covers up over Rosie, and she kissed the top of her head softly. "Sleep tight, kiddo." She whispered.

* * *

"Thanks…again." Jesse mumbled as they made their way back to the living room.

"You say that a lot." Aubrey teased.

"Well, stop doing things like that, and I won't say it anymore!" he joked.

"Mmm, I think I'd rather hear your voice than stop being nice." She giggled.

"I see your logic in that, Miss Posen." He smirked. "Hey, you want to watch a movie or something?"

Aubrey thought about it for a few seconds. She really did. "I guess so. What do you want to watch?"

"Have you seen 'House at The End of The Street' yet?" he asked, holding up the movie case.

Aubrey shook her head no. "I guess I'm about to, though."

"You guessed right!" he teased, putting in the movie and sitting down on the couch.

Aubrey sat down next to him and adjusted herself so she was comfortable but not too, too close to him.

"Is it scary?" she asked. Aubrey didn't normally watch a lot of scary movies. It pretty much had to do with the fact that she was always alone when she watched movies.

"Parts of it might be scary to you, but it's actually a really good movie."

Aubrey groaned slightly. "I don't do too many scary movies." She admitted.

"If you think it gets too scary, tell me, and I will turn it off." He told her. Jesse pulled out a blanket from under the coffee table and draped it over Aubrey since she seems to get cold a lot.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

Aubrey stayed pretty relaxed throughout the movie. Unlike most scary movies, this one had an actual plot line that was quite interesting. It made you curious to know what happened next. It left you on the edge of your seat. Or couch in this matter.

Throughout the movie, Aubrey got increasingly closer to Jesse. She could feel the heat from his body against hers. She could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath that he took. She could see his cute little dimple as he smiled at the television. He was weird like that. She could see his eyes sparkling—

All Aubrey could see was the girl jumping out. It was enough to freak her out. Aubrey jumped in her spot, and she quickly found Jesse's hand. She pulled his hand up to cover her eyes. She couldn't see anything, but she could definitely hear his fit of laughter.

"Oh come on, Aubs. It wasn't _that_ bad!" he said, poking her side with his finger from his free hand.

"It's scary okay! Don't you judge me!"

"Hey! This is a judge free zone." He teased. "It's almost over anyways."

"Am I going to jump again?"

"Possibly."

Aubrey let Jesse's hand fall with his arm around her shoulders, but she still held on to his fingers like a child would. She leaned in closer to him as the movie continued, but she was prepared for another scare.

As soon as it started, Aubrey buried her head into Jesse's chest, but she never let go of his hand. He wrapped his other arm around her and comforted her. He held her close to him for the remainder of the movie and laughed at her reaction. She was just so damn cute.

"See! It wasn't a bad movie!" Jesse exclaimed as the credits rolled.

"It wasn't! It was just a little…jumpy."

"Hey, I was here the whole time." He smirked.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Aubrey sighed. His hand was in her lap now, her hand covering his. She didn't seem to notice at first until he moved it. He laced his fingers in between Aubrey's and watched as she looked down at their hands and back up at him. He had a small, dorky grin on his face. Typical.

"I like this." Aubrey giggled, running her thumb across the back of his hand.

"Aubrey, I have completely fallen for you. Everything you do, everything you say, everything you are. You're my first thought in the morning, you're my last thought before I fall asleep, and you're almost every thought in between. It's so confusing. And the reason it's so confusing is because it's love. I know there are challenges between us. But if love didn't have challenges, what would be the point?"

Aubrey looked down at their hands. She should have expected something like that to come up. She'd been preparing.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I sort of figured something like this would happen, so I came prepared. I didn't jump into this on an instant thought. I've thought this through, and I'm still thinking. But there's this quote that's just been stuck in the back of my head whenever I start to think about this. It's by C.S. Lewis. He said '_You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.'_ I've already reached my goal, I feel like, in New York. It's the same old thing over and over again. Sure, my whole life is there, my job and friends, but it doesn't feel like I'm at home. I don't know if it ever will, and that scares me. I don't want to miss an opportunity of a lifetime because I'm stubborn. So, that being said, I think my new dream starts here."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, it's definitely the shortest chapter of this story so far! I'm sorry about that! I have exams right now, so y'all are lucky y'all got this. Especially on a thursday! Okay now I have to wait for Jambo to finish hers ha bye!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Aubrey sat on the couch so she was facing Jesse, her legs tucked up under her body. Rosie was sitting in Jesse's lap, and she was clutching her stuffed lamb or Lamby as she called it. Jesse had somehow managed to convince Aubrey to come over again even though it was barely morning, and she reluctantly agreed. She didn't want to feel like a burden, but at the same time, she wanted to spend all of this time with him.

"So Rosie, what would you like for breakfast?" Jesse asked, setting her on the couch.

"Cereal." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Aubrey got up and walked with Jesse to the kitchen to get Rosie a bowl of cereal. She leaned against the kitchen counter as she watched Jesse scurry around the kitchen. He disappeared with her food and reappeared a few seconds later. He walked over to where she was standing and leaned against the counter next to her.

"So, what do you want to do today?" he asked, nudging her with his elbow.

"You're the one who dragged me here!" Aubrey laughed, punching him in the shoulder jokingly.

"I know! I know! I just wanted to see you! Is that too much to ask?"

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow and stared at him for a second.

"Okay no comments from the peanut gallery." He teased. "How about we go out tonight? That's if you're still willing to hang out with me. I'm not going to keep you here against your will."

"You don't have to take me out, Jess." Aubrey tried.

"No! I want to take you out on a real date! Yanno the whole shebang, dinner and something afterwards!"

"That's so cheesy, Jess!"

"Well, maybe I want to be cheesy with you." Jesse smirked.

"You're so weird." Aubrey giggled.

"But you enjoy my weirdness!" Jesse grinned, throwing his arm over her shoulders.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." she smirked, looking over at his arm and back at him.

"Ouch. Your sarcasm! It hurts!" he gasped, clutching his chest in fake pain.

"Mmm. Good. It's supposed to." She smirked, shooting a wink in his direction.

"No, but seriously! Let's go out!" Jesse pleaded.

"Is that anyway to ask a girl out? Jesse Swanson, I am disappointed in you!" she teased.

"You're right." Jesse got down on his knees and took Aubrey's hands in his. "Will you, Aubrey Posen, do me the favor of going on a date with me?"

"Well when you put it that way, how can I say no?" Aubrey smirked.

"Great!" Jesse cheered, pushing himself off of the floor. "I turned Tangled on for Rosie. Would you like to go watch it?"

"Disney musicals…hell yeah! I mean heck. Heck yeah. Sorry. Little ears. Sorry."

Jesse laughed and turned around to go back to the living room, followed by Aubrey. They sat down on the couch and Rosie crawled up in between them, laying her head in Jesse's lap. Aubrey couldn't help but smile as she watched the young girl grin from ear to ear. It warmed her heart. It also didn't hurt that this was a really cute movie.

Rosie was sitting straight up, staring intently at the tv, when the lanterns scene came on. She was completely fascinated by it.

"Hey Rosie, are you going to sing so Aubrey can hear you?" Jesse asked, poking Rosie's side softly.

Rosie turned around and looked like she was scared to sing. It looked like she wanted to, but she didn't want to at the same time.

"Did you know that Aubrey sings? Well, she used to sing. I don't know if she does so anymore." Jesse told her. Ever since Rosie seemed to have an interest in music, Jesse has been teaching her. He doesn't push her so she won't lose interest, but she's got talent.

"I'm scared daddy!" Rosie started to whimper.

"It's okay princess! There's nothing to be scared about! You don't have to sing if you don't want to! I just thought you'd like to show Aubrey!" Jesse comforted her, rubbing her back to calm her down.

Aubrey pulled Rosie into her lap and held her in a hug. At first Aubrey started humming, but that quickly turned into words. She wasn't very loud, but Rosie could hear her.

_Now I'm here blinking in the starlight  
Now I'm here suddenly I see  
Standing here it's all so clear  
I'm where I'm meant to be_

Rosie's grin was spread across her face as she looked at Aubrey. Her fears disappeared as she started to sing along with her.

_And at last I see the light  
And it's like the fog has lifted  
And at last I see the light  
And it's like the sky is new  
And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once everything looks different  
Now that I see you_

Jesse was smiling like an idiot by this point. Okay, he was smiling like an idiot as soon as Aubrey opened her mouth to begin with, but this did him over the top. He immediately decided to join in as Eugene sang. Aubrey and Rosie turned to look at him as he sang to them. Aubrey's stomach fluttered, and she began to blush as his voice rang throughout the house. __

All those days chasing down a daydream  
All those years living in a blur  
All that time never truly seeing  
Things, the way they were  
Now she's here shining in the starlight  
Now she's here suddenly I know  
If she's here it's crystal clear  
I'm where I'm meant to go

Aubrey joined in with Jesse, and Rosie just watched in fascination as they sang together. She pushed herself off of Aubrey's lap and was standing in front of them, but they didn't seem to notice.

_And at last I see the light_

And it's like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it's like the sky is new

And it's warm and real and bright  
And the world has somehow shifted  
All at once everything is different  
Now that I see you

Now that I see you

Jesse brushed a strand of hair out of Aubrey's face and tucked it behind her ear. Aubrey's heart was pounding, she swore he could hear it. Jesse's fingers lingered over her cheek, and she could still feel his touch burning into her skin. It drove her insane.

"Well that was fun." He said softly, not taking his eyes off of her.

Aubrey grinned sheepishly and looked over at Rosie who was staring at them in utter fascination.

"You're still a beautiful singer." He admitted, setting his hand on her knee.

"Thanks. You chords sound pretty great, too." She said, her cheeks turning bright red.

"You do that a lot." He chuckled.

"Do what?"

"Blush!"

"I'm sorry! It just happens. I can't control it!"

"I know, I know! It's cute!" he assured her.

Jesse scooted closer to Aubrey and wrapped his around her shoulders. Her stomach started fluttering again as she felt his arm around her, leaving her up to some weird thoughts.

Rosie crawled back into their laps once she realized that they weren't singing again, and they finished watching the movie together.

* * *

"Where are we going, Jesse?" Aubrey kept asking as they drove down the road.

"Man, you're worse than Rosie!" Jesse joked, placing his right hand over her hand that was resting on her thigh. "Relax! I'm not kidnapping you or anything!"

Aubrey felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She couldn't help it. Jesse just had that effect on her. Anything he did could trigger it whether it's his incredibly dorky smile that hasn't changed a bit, or even a touch much like now.

"Promise?" she asked, her bottom lip starting to stick out slightly.

Jesse looked over at Aubrey as they stopped at a red light. "Cross my heart." He grinned. "We're almost there, sweetie. Don't worry."

Aubrey's stomach fluttered when he said "sweetie". There she goes again with the whole turning bright red issue she has going on. It's his fault anyways, being so kind and adorable and all that jazz. She used to laugh at all of the couples as they blushed over anything their significant other did, but now she was in their shoes. Maybe she laughed because, deep down, that's what she really wanted.

The car came to a stop, and Jesse quickly ran around and opened Aubrey's door. Aubrey could see his energy level bursting at the seams, so she kicked off her heels before getting out of the car.

"Let's go!" Jesse said excitedly, pulling her by the wrist and running up the small hill.

Aubrey struggled to keep up, but she somehow managed to stay close behind him. They ran to the top of the hill, and Aubrey finally realized where they were standing. Lakes Park.

Jesse's hand brushed up against Aubrey's, sending a rush of electricity throughout her body. All she really wanted to do was to hold his hand, just like she was back in high school. But she also found it strange that she was nervous about holding his hand even though they had kissed twice. Doesn't that normally happen in reverse?

She purposely brushed her hand against his, hoping he'd get the message. Jesse smiled a soft, gentle smile when he felt the spark of her warm hand brush against his. He could feel where her fingers rested. He ever so smoothly knocked his hand lightly against hers, just to make sure. He felt like he was back in middle school again, playing Chicken when it comes to holding hands with a crush. Aubrey's hand didn't move, so Jesse took that as his chance. His hand innocently found the inside of hers, and he intertwined his fingers in hers. He gave her hand a small squeeze just to make sure she was okay. She squeezed back and looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"You okay?" he asked, looking over at her. Aubrey simply nodded her head and giggled quietly, causing Jesse to smile.

"Good." He said, pulling her in a direction.

"Where are we going?" she asked, keeping a hold on his hand as they walked.

Jesse pointed with his left hand to a small figure at the bottom of this side of the hill. "There." He said, adding his dorky grin.

Aubrey followed his gaze to the bottom. It wasn't very clear at first, but as she squinted and they walked, she could see it clearly.

"Not too cheesy, right?" he asked jokingly.

"That's yet to be determined." She smirked, giving his hand a small squeeze.

Jesse grinned and led her over there, watching as her eyes filled with excitement.

"I don't think I've been to a playground since I was in elementary school." Aubrey admitted, looking around at everything. "But I do remember liking the swings!" she giggled lightly.

"Well, come on! I'll push you!" Jesse exclaimed, dragging her towards the swings.

Aubrey sat down in the first swing, and Jesse walked around behind her. He pulled the swing back by the chains, just a little bit, and let go, watching Aubrey giggle to herself as she soared through the air. He pushed her lightly whenever she came back to him.

After a few minutes of that, and by a few I mean more like five or so if not more, Aubrey came to a dwindling halt. Jesse appeared in front of her, his hands on the chains. He leaned down close to Aubrey and whispered in her ear, "I hope you don't get too dizzy," before spinning her in circles, watching as the chains twisted together. Once they were twisted to the top, Jesse took as step back. Aubrey squealed and held on tightly as she spun around quickly. It made her feel like a little girl again. She missed that feeling.

Jesse jumped in and stopped her as she just twisted back and forth. Aubrey locked eyes with him and grinned. He walked the swing backwards until Aubrey's feet hit the ground for balance.

"You're pretty cute when you're squealing." He smirked. He inched forward, closing the distance between them.

Aubrey shifted forward, her chest now slightly pressed against his. "You're pretty cute when you get all flustered like you are right now." She teased, watching the color rush to his cheeks. He was almost as bad as she was.

Aubrey slid her hands up the chains so they were right under his. Jesse bit his lip as he watched her giggle and shake her head. His cheeks burned with color and heat. He took notice of details about her: her twinkling eyes, the slight lift of her nose, how her teeth weren't perfectly straight, how the corners of her mouth would twitch slightly before she grinned. He couldn't help it. He was so enamored by everything about her. She fascinated him to the extent that he could never think straight around her.

Before he could respond, Aubrey's hands rested on his chest. He felt her warm, soft lips meet his. His lips parted slightly as he kissed her back. He gently cupped her face and leaned into the kiss, their bodies pressed even closer together. Jesse wasn't quite expecting Aubrey to make a move like that. Not tonight at least. Yeah, he was about to kiss her anyways, but she just beat him to the punch.

They broke apart when air became an issue of necessity.

Jesse leaned his forehead against hers. "You stick around, and I could get used to that." He smirked.

"Sometimes I get this weird feeling that we've screwed this up. I mean, first we kissed, not that I didn't enjoy it, but then we hugged, and held hands tonight. And obviously we kissed again. Do we even know how a relationship works? I'm pretty sure that kissing is not the first step." She sighed, sitting back down in the swing.

Jesse sat down in the swing next to hers. "I guess not, but we can figure it out together, yanno, with each other." He smiled sheepishly.

Aubrey smiled and looked over at him as he began to push himself off the ground, swinging his legs in the air. "Yeah, I guess we could."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Merry Christmas weirdos! I hope you guys have had a great holiday break! I got a new laptop, so my other files aren't on this one yet, so bear with me a bit. I've been doing some thinking. This will be the last chapter of this story, but fear not! I'll start something new. I'll probably wrap up What's So Good About Perfection too. I've just lost interest in it. I'll start brainstorming for not as long multichapter ideas though! It's going to get pretty hectic with rehearsals for Cabaret starting in January which is why I don't want to be stuck with a crazy big story. I hope you see where I'm coming from. If not, PM me.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"I wish you could have stayed, Aubs. I miss you so much." Jesse told her. It was one of their typical phone calls before they went to sleep once was Rosie was out.

"I know, Jess. I miss you so much, too." Aubrey assured him as she crawled under her blankets to escape the cold. It was finally snowing in New York. As much as Aubrey loved New York, she hated how cold it got in her apartment. She was constantly having to wear fuzzy socks and hoodies.

"What are you doing?" he asked innocently.

"I'm getting into bed."

"Oh. Yeah, it's getting kind of late, I suppose." he mumbled into the speaker.

"Hey, don't worry! I'm not going anywhere quite yet." she assured him.

She could hear Jesse laughing on the line. God, his laugh. Aubrey could feel the knots forming in her stomach as she listened to him carry on.

"So...what are you doing for Christmas?" he finally asked her.

Aubrey grew quiet. She knew he wouldn't like her answer, but there wasn't really a way around it. "I, um, I have to work." she mumbled quietly.

"You what?!" he practically shouted. "But it's Christmas!"

"I know Jess, but I have to go in on the 24th and the 26th, so it's pointless for me to go somewhere.

"You can't just take off?" Aubrey could hear the disappointment in his voice, and it broke her heart.

"I wish I could Jesse, but I took off that week for Thanksgiving to see you." she explained to him.

"That's not how you're supposed to spend Christmas, Aubrey. You should be with your family or friends."

"It's been like this for the past few years, Jess. It just hasn't been a problem until now."

"Well, can you at least promise to FaceTime me so I can see your beautiful face?"

Aubrey smiled like a little girl as she felt the color run to her cheeks. "I can do that." she promised.

"I hate knowing that you're going to be all alone on Christmas Day."

"As long as I can hear your voice, I think I can manage." she giggled.

"I think we can arrange for that to happen." Aubrey could practically hear his smirk through the line.

"As much as I hate doing this, I really need to get some sleep, Jesse." Aubrey sighed, turning over on her side and resting her phone against her face.

"I understand, Aubs. Get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Tomorrow." Aubrey giggled sleepily.

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

There he goes again, calling her things like that. She loves it, but she hates what it does to her.

* * *

_*Christmas Eve*_

Aubrey was finally home after one long day at work. She just wanted take a hot bath and crawl into bed and go to sleep. She hated not being able to see her parents again. But she didn't mind that as much as not being able to see Jesse again. She was definitely bitten by the love bug. She couldn't deny it.

Aubrey started the hot water in the tub. She went and grabbed a book and her phone, just in case Jesse called. She just needed a break from the rest of the world for a bit.

Her phone rang just as her book was getting interested. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Impeccable timing, Swanson." she thought. She set her book on the ground next to the tub and reached over for her phone. A smile appeared on her face as she saw Jesse's name and dorky face on her screen. She quickly answered before it finished ringing all the way through.

"Hey Jesse!" she said in a singsong voice.

"Hey Sweetie! How was your day?" he asked, just like he does every other day.

"Stressful. I'm glad it's over." she admitted, resting her neck against the back edge of the tub.

"I'm sorry, Aubs. You should relax tonight."

"I am, don't worry. I'm currently in bath mode." she laughed softly.

"Oh. Do you just want to call me back later?" he asked, genuinely not wanting to disturb her.

"No, no! It's alright, I promise!" she assured him, a smile forming along the corners of her mouth. "How was your day?"

"It was a little long, but it's better now!"

"That's good! What are you doing tonight?"

"Oh nothing much. I'm thinking of dropping by a friend's place for a bit."

"Sounds fun! What about Rosie? How's she?"

"She's great! She's at my parents right now. They always love having her over for Christmas."

"That's nice. Give the little kiddo a big hug and kiss for me."

"I will, Aubs." he assured her. "How's your bath?"

"Relaxing." Aubrey giggled. She knew Jesse was worried about her stress level.

Aubrey heard a faint sound in the distance. She turned her head towards the bathroom door that was halfway open. It's not like anyone else was there. "Hold on, Jesse. I think someone's knocking on my door." she said, cueing him to shut up. She heard the light sound again, three small knocks. "Yeah, someone is definitely at my door." Aubrey groaned.

"Maybe you should answer it." Jesse said calmly.

"Nah. They'll go away eventually." she muttered, settling back into her hot bath.

"What if it's important, Aubs?" he asked with worry in his voice.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Jess."

"What if somebody's dying or there's a fire?" he asked her.

"Would it make you feel better if I answered the door?" Aubrey sighed, knowing he wouldn't lose this.

"Yes." he said quietly. "I'll stay on the line."

"Alright. Give me a second. I have to dry off." she mumbled, reaching for her towel and bathrobe. Aubrey dried off and drained the tub. She tied her bathrobe around her little body and made her way to her apartment door.

"Okay, I'm walking to the door." she mumbled jokingly as she scuffled across her apartment.

"Hopefully they haven't died yet." he teased.

Aubrey rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her. "Okay, I'm about to open the door." she mumbled. "I feel really silly just in my bathrobe."

"I'm sure you're adorable." Jesse flirted via phone. Aubrey loves when he says things that make her feel special.

Aubrey unlocked her door and opened it a tiny bit, but she couldn't see anyone yet. She opened it more and peeked her head out into the hall. As soon as he saw, Aubrey's stomach tensed, and she couldn't move at all. She wasn't entirely sure if it was real or one really messed up dream.

"I was right. You're pretty damn adorable." Jesse winked, leaning against her doorframe.

"I...J...what...I can't...what are you doing here?" she somehow managed to finally choke out.

Jesse stared at her and pursed his lips slightly. "Ya know, I was expecting a little more from you, Posen." he smirked. "Maybe like a kiss. A hug at least." he added with a small shrug.

Once it finally clicked in Aubrey's mind, she pretty much attacked him. Aubrey wrapped her arms over his shoulders and pressed her lips against his. Jesse picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, not wanting to end the kiss. Jesse leaned her up against the doorframe as he kissed her with much passion. Jesse felt Aubrey run her hands through his hair as electricity shot throughout their bodies.

Jesse was the first to pull apart, much to Aubrey's displeasure. But he was laughing? Aubrey wasn't exactly sure what was happening, so she just stared at him with a confused look on her adorable, yet slightly upset and offended face.

"What's wrong?" she asks, hoping for a decent explanation to his actions.

Jesse didn't say anything. He simply stood there and laughed softly, shaking his head slightly occasionally. He looked at Aubrey, whom he was still holding and pressing against the doorframe out in the hall.

"Jesse, tell me what's wrong! Did I do something?"

Jesse chuckled softly before finally answering. "No. Well, yes. Sort of."

"Okay what did I do?" Aubrey asked with confusion in her voice.

"Okay. Aubrey, I think you love me."

Aubrey pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "And what on earth makes you think that?"

A small smirk made its way to Jesse's face. "Well, you just jumped into my arms...and you're completely naked under your robe."

Aubrey felt the color and heat rush straight to her cheeks as Jesse stared at her with a smug little grin. She pushed herself out of his grasp and quickly ran inside, not even bothering to close the door. She ran to her bedroom all flustered, making sure she closed this door behind her. She kept muttering under her breath about how stupid she was and how it was his fault since he makes her feel and do crazy things whenever he is around her. She grabbed her some clothes from the drawer and quickly threw them on. She returned her robe to the bathroom before contemplating on going back out to face Jesse again.

Aubrey took a deep breath before opening her bedroom door. Once she finally did, she saw Jesse sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. The apartment door was closed and locked, and his bag was sitting on the floor in front of the door. Aubrey made her way over to the couch and sat down next to him. He lifted his head and looked over at her with the most apologetic look on his face.

"I'm really sorry, Aubrey. I shouldn't have-" he started.

"It's fine, Jess. Honestly. I'm fine. You're fine. It's fine. _We're_ fine." she assured him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"I feel like such an asshole." he mumbled, shaking his head. "If you want me to leave, just say so, and I will."

Aubrey felt a small lump form in the back of her throat as she listened to him tear himself up over this. "I want you here with me, Jess. I never want you to leave."

"I don't deserve you, Aubs. I really don't."

Aubrey felt a pain in her chest as she heard his words. For the past four months, she had been the one to think that. He shouldn't be feeling the same way.

"Hey look at me." Aubrey told him, lifting up his chin so he was staring into her stormy eyes. "You mean so much to me. More than you will ever know." she started. Aubrey scooted over and crawled into his lap, draping her legs over the side of the couch. She wrapped her outside arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest. She felt his lips press against the top of her head. Jesse wrapped his arms around her body and held her close to him. Aubrey bit her lip before continuing on. "You gave me a second chance, and I'm thankful for that every second of every day because I know that I can always count on you. I don't want this to change, Jess. What happened out there, that meant something to me. But it wasn't necessarily bad."

"I'm so sorry Aubs."

"Jesse, I _love_ you." she finally admitted, looking up to see his face.

Jesse was shocked and excited at the same time. He looked down at her and smiled the most heartfelt smile he could smile. She had finally said it. Jesse knew she'd say those three words when she was ready to. They mean so much, and you can't just go around throwing those words out over something meaningless. They both knew that.

"I love you so much, Aubrey." Jesse finally said, gently pressing his lips against her forehead.

Jesse held Aubrey in his arms for the rest of the night, periodically kissing her softly, causing her to giggle and squirm in his grasp.

"You never answered my question, Jess." Aubrey whispered, poking at Jesse's stomach.

"Wait, what was your question?"

"What are you doing here?" Aubrey repeated from earlier with a small laugh.

"I told you! No one should ever have to spend Christmas alone, Aubs." he said, his voice softening.

Aubrey smiled into his chest as she felt his arms wrap tighter around her. "What about Rosie?"

"Ah, she's fine. She loves spending Christmas with my parents. I told her Santa needed some help with this doll she wants." Jesse explained. "I needed to see you."

Aubrey leaned up and kissed his jaw line gently, her lips barely brushing against his warm skin. "How long are you staying?"

"However long I can." he whispered, his breath brushing against her skin.

The warmth of his breath sent chills down Aubrey's spine, causing her to shiver in his arms.

"Are you cold?" he asked worriedly.

"No! Well, yes, but no." she stuttered.

Jesse moved his arms to under Aubrey's body and quickly stood up, holding her against his body.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting you in bed. Now...where's your bedroom?"

Aubrey giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck so she was hanging on to him. "That door." she said, nodding towards the door of her bedroom.

Jesse carried her to her bedroom and skillfully opened the door while still holding her. "It's cute." he teased as he walked into her room. Jesse gently set Aubrey down in her bed. He pulled the covers up over her and tucked her in. He walked around her bed and sat down next to her.

"Why don't you get under the covers?" Aubrey asked as she turned over and looked at him just sitting there.

"Because I'll most likely fall asleep, Aubs." Jesse explained, not wanting to cross any boundaries.

"I don't see an issue with that." she smirked.

"I'm sleeping on the couch, Aubrey." he explained.

"But Jesse, I'm cold! You can just stay here and keep me warm." she said with a small wink.

"Aubrey, I'm not going to cross any lines that we maybe aren't ready to cross." he said firmly.

"Jesse, I jumped in your arms and I was naked, for Christ's sake! I wouldn't have done that if I was worried about not crossing lines."

"Aubrey-"

"Jesse, please just stay with me tonight!" she started to beg. Aubrey pulled out her signature pout that Jesse could never say _no_ to.

He stood firm for only a few seconds, giving in to her pout. "Fine. I'll stay. Just for you." he finally sighed. "Can I at least change first?"

Aubrey giggled and nodded, pointing towards the bathroom door. Jesse made his way over to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He returned a minute later in his boxers with his jeans and shirt folded neatly in his hands. He set them on the corner of her dresser and made his way back to her bed.

Jesse crawled under the covers next to Aubrey. She didn't waste anytime in moving close to him. She buried her head into his warm chest, taking in his presence. He wrapped one arm around her and propped the other under his head so he could look at her.

"I love you Aubrey." he whispered, leaning down and placing a small kiss on her lips.

Aubrey smiled her warm smile. Jesse had always been in love with Aubrey's smile from the first day they met. He would always think of how her smile could light up any room she was in. It was contagious. Once she started smiling, everyone around her started smiling. And for the most part, that was true.

"I love you too, Jesse." she giggled, giving him another small peck. "To the moon and back a billion times." she added with a wink.

"And more." he whispered in her ear, tucking her hair behind her ear and planting a kiss on her cheek.

She used to tease Jesse back in school about that. He would always say how you shouldn't be in a relationship unless you love them to the moon and back a billion times and more. Jesse would always say dorky things that could make Aubrey smile. It was a gift he possessed.

"Thank you for this, Jess. Thank you for doing everything you do. You didn't have to come all the way out here, but you still did, and that means more than you will ever know."

"I would do anything for you, Aubs. I promise."

"I know you would, Jess." she smiled.

"Can I ask you something, though?" Jesse asked, lifting up her chin slightly so he could see her beautiful face. She nodded her head slightly, getting lost in his eyes. "What did you mean when you said you think your 'new dream starts here'?"

Aubrey sighed and bit her lip. "It was supposed to be a surprise. I wasn't going to tell you until I was 10000% certain." she began.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm scheduled to take the Georgia Bar Exam in January!" she squealed.

Jesse was taken back with shock. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack!" she assured him.

"Aubrey, does this mean what I think it means?"

Aubrey nodded her head and let out a hearty laugh. "But it's not fixed in stone yet. I still have to _pass_ the exam." she explained.

"I know you will, Aubrey! You're a phenomenal lawyer. You'll pass with flying colors!" he exclaimed.

"I hope so." she mumbled.

"Hey, even if you don't, but you will of course, it doesn't matter. I'm still going to love you!"

"I know Jess, but I just want to be able to do what I love there, too."

"I still can't believe this is actually happening. I mean we haven't even been dating that long in all honesty."

"Do you trust my judgement, Jess?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course I do!"

"Then know that I have faith in this...in us."

Jesse smiled as he heard Aubrey say this. Jesse always knew they clicked, and Aubrey believes they will be together forever.

"I can't believe this! You're going to be back in Georgia! We won't have to FaceTime anymore to see each other, and you can move in with Rosie and I!"

"Okay, easy there tiger!" she stopped him right there. "I'm going to get my own place. Nothing against yours, it's just, I don't want to rush things too fast. I already feel like I'm losing my mind by moving down there. I don't know where this urge to do new things is coming from, but I sort of like it. I just like knowing I have some sanity left, so I'm going to have my own place and a job like I have now and all that jazz."

"Have I mentioned today how lucky I am to be in love with you?" Jesse grinned.

"Let's go to sleep, lover boy." she teased, reaching over to turn off the lamp next to her bed.

"Lover boy, hmm?" he smirked.

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

Jesse grinned and wrapped his arm around Aubrey, pulling her against his chest. Aubrey's breath grew short and sharp as she pressed against him, a feeling of closeness they had yet to experience, until now that is. If this is what she's been missing from her life, she's glad to have it now.

* * *

*_Christmas Day*_

Aubrey woke up still pressed against Jesse's chest. He never let her go during the night. She leaned up and kissed his jaw line softly. His eyes fluttered open, a smile erupted onto his face.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart." he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie." she said softly.

Jesse started humming quietly in Aubrey's ear. It was a song Aubrey recognized instantly. She looked up at Jesse, but his eyes were closed, so she closed her eyes and listened to his voice as he began singing.

**_It's a little bit funny this feeling inside_**

**_I'm not one of those who can easily hide_**

**_I don't have much money but boy if I did_**

**_I'd buy a big house where we both could live_**

**_If I was a sculptor, but then again, no_**

**_Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show_**

**_I know it's not much but it's the best I can do_**

**_My gift is my song and this one's for you_**

**_And you can tell everybody this is your song_**

**_It may be quite simple but now that it's done_**

**_I hope you don't mind_**

**_I hope you don't mind that I put down in words_**

**_How wonderful life is while you're in the world_**

Jesse tilted Aubrey's chin and placed a soft, gentle kiss on her lips.

Aubrey smiled a small smile and started to sing quietly to Jesse

**_I said I love you and that's forever_**

**_And this I promise from my heart_**

**_I couldn't love you any better_**

**_I love you just the way you are._**

Jesse wrapped his around the back of Aubrey's neck, pulling her mouth closer to his. His lips slightly parted, he met her lips gently at first, beginning to intensify by both.

Aubrey rolled over on top of Jesse and continued to kiss him, now straddling his hips. Jesse's hands found her hips, pushing them against his. Aubrey ran her fingers through his hair and cupped his face as she relinquished all power to him.

"Aubrey, I don't think we should do this." Jesse immediately said, pulling apart from her.

"I love you, Jess. Just...consider it a Christmas gift." she smirked.

"Aubs"

Aubrey cut him off with another kiss, taking his breath away. This time, Aubrey pulled away.

"One thing. I love Rosie and all, but I am not ready-"

"I've got it this time." he said quickly before pressing his lips against hers.

"I love you Jesse Swanson."

"I love you Aubrey Rose Posen."

* * *

**A/N: thanks for reading this story! I hope you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Ya gotta go out with a bang (figuratively and literally). **

**Alexis, don't hate me!**


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